Thank you for all your support and helping reach my target, which has gone directly to The Stroke Association. The race was a success, running the marathon in 3h53.

This year I am running the Paris marathon for The Stroke Association. I have been refreshing my French language skills for the last few months now and think I should be ready by April 11th when the marathon starts. In addition to utilising my GCSE French, running the Paris marathon, although painful will no doubt be a complete pleasure. Last year 95 countries were represented following the route of the cities famous architecture.

Members of my family have been affected by strokes and last year my auntie died as a result of a stroke, which is why I continue to support the work of The Stroke Association. 

Every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke. Almost one in four men and one in five women aged 45 can expect to have a stroke if they live to 85 and around three times more women die from stroke than from breast cancer in the UK.

Please see the following web link to see the work of the Stroke Association:  http://www.stroke.org.uk/about_us/index.html

I appreciate donating your hard earned money is the last thing on most peoples mind, especially given the recession. All money donated however small makes a real difference:

£20 keeps our Stroke Helpline open for an hour 

£50 helps us to publish information leaflets 

£100 or more can help fund our research projects

So while your watching Easterenders on a freezing cold winters night, you can rest assured that I will be out on an evening, pounding the streets of Selby in preparation for the big day. Surely that thought alone is worth a few quid?

Please dig deep.

Sam.

A word from the justgiving:

"Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity".